Pneumatic directional control valves are commonly employed to control pressurized air to perform different tasks and operate various types of equipment. For example, in the railway transportation industry, such valves have been utilized to operate pneumatically controlled cargo doors on rail cars. Historically, such rail cars have been used to transport coal and other types of material. To unload the coal, the cargo doors of the rail cars were traditionally operated by hand. In recent times pneumatic valves have been employed to eliminate the need for workers to manually open and close the doors on each rail car.
In one conventional application, for example, equipment can be provided adjacent to the railway at the entry point of an unloading site where the cargo is to be discharged. This equipment can automatically activate the pneumatic valves, which are typically mounted on the outside of the rail car, to open the cargo doors of a rail car as it passes by. The cargo can then be emptied while the rail car is moving, usually at very slow speeds, such as two to three miles-per-hour. When the cargo has been emptied and as the rail car is leaving, wayside equipment positioned at an exit point of the unloading site can activate the pneumatic valves to close the cargo doors. This type of system employing pneumatic valves can permit the rail cars to unload the cargo without the train having to come to a complete stop. For safety reasons, the train can be required to come to a complete stop if it were required to have workers manually open and close the cargo doors.
Because such valves are normally mounted on the outside of rail cars there is a need for adequate protection from damage. Conventionally, a separate protective enclosure is designed, constructed and mounted over the valve to protect it from environmental conditions such as wind, rain, snow, dirt, and the like. Additionally, the valve needs to be protected from being struck by rocks or other foreign objects which a moving train might encounter. To provide sufficient protection the protective enclosure is normally constructed of sturdy steel plates which are welded together. The protective enclosure also has a latching cover which can be opened to provide access to the valve for repair or replacement.
The pneumatic valves are commonly installed by mounting the valve onto a valve mounting subbase which is secured to a base plate attached to the outside of the rail car. The valve can have a number of ports, for example, a "5 port-4 way" valve can have a supply port, two exhaust ports, and two delivery ports. Typically, the valve can require connection to a source of electricity. Consequently, a number of fittings, hoses and electrical wiring can be required to be routed to and operatively connected to the valve. Commonly, a valve mounting subbase is provided which has integral porting configured to mate with the ports on the valve and additionally has an electrical receptacle for an electrical connector on the valve. Thus, the requisite plumbing and wiring can be hard-plumbed and hard-wired directly to the subbase. The valve can then be conveniently connected to the subbase.
A protective enclosure is then constructed to completely enclose the valve and subbase. Conventionally, a cover can be provided to completely enclose and protect the valve. The cover commonly can be hinged at one side to permit it to be conveniently opened to easily access the valve for repair or replacement. The protective enclosure, including the cover, is typically constructed from steel to provide sufficient protection not only from the weather, but also to protect the valve from being struck by rocks or other debris that a moving train may encounter. Because of the plumbing and wiring requirements, the sides of the cover can be required to have cut out portions to provide access to the ports and electrical connections on the subbase.
In the rail car application described previously, and also in other different applications, a number of individually installed valves can be required, and a protective enclosure can be necessary for each of the valves. Consequently, a big disadvantage of conventional protective enclosures such as described above can be the expense and amount of time required to construct and mount a separate protective enclosure for each valve.
Thus, there is a need for a manifold protective valve enclosure which can have an integral valve mounting subbase portion on which a valve can be easily mounted and protectively enclosed by side walls and a cover. The integral subbase portion can have the requisite ports and electrical connections for connecting to the valve. Consequently, a valve, valve subbase and protective enclosure can be provided in a single, self contained, ready to install unit. The external plumbing and electrical connections can be routed through openings provided in the side walls and connected directly to the subbase portion. Thus, the valve can be easily connected or disconnected from the integral subbase portion without disturbing any external plumbing or wiring. Such a manifold protective valve enclosure can thereby eliminate the need for both a separate valve mounting subbase and a separate protective enclosure built around the subbase and the valve.